Northern leads Tech in 91-75 road romp at SEMO
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. – Senior Daniel Northern dominated the
paint for career-highs in both points (27) and rebounds (18), and
his fifth double-double of the year helped propel Tennessee Tech to
a convincing 91-75 Ohio Valley Conference road victory at Southeast
Missouri Saturday night in the Show Me Center.
Making 73 percent of their shots in the second half didn’t
hurt the Golden Eagle effort, either.
Northern was one of three Golden Eagles to put up career-highs in
scoring, with freshman Kevin Murphy adding 16 and junior Alfred
Jones hitting 11. Junior Frank Davis joined those three in double
figures with 15 points, hitting 5-for-7 from 3-point range.
With the win, the Golden Eagles split their four-game road stretch
and now get to come home with an 11-10 overall record. Tech is 5-6
in conference play, and right in the middle of a jumbled up OVC
race.
Tech is back in Eblen Center next week to open a three-game
homestand, with a Thursday night (Feb. 5) contest against Eastern
Kentucky. The Golden Eagles will then entertain league-leading
Morehead State on Saturday (Feb. 7) and second-place Austin Peay on
Monday (Feb. 9).
SEMO, which has now lost 12 of its last 13 games against Mike
Sutton’s Golden Eagles, saw its 2008-09 records fall to 3-20
overall and 0-12 in the OVC.
Kenard Moore topped SEMO with 21 points and Jaycen Herring scored
17. Calvin Williams achieved a double-double with 12 points and 11
rebounds.
After Saturday’s action, Morehead State has slipped into the
top spot in the standings with a 9-2 league record, while Austin
Peay is second at 8-3. Idle UT Martin is third at 7-3, with Eastern
Illinois (7-4) fourth. Murray State (5-4) is alone in fifth place,
while Tech, Eastern Kentucky and Tennessee State are all tied for
sixth place at 5-6.
The Golden Eagles wasted no time in establishing control of the
contest, racing out to an 11-1 lead in the first four minutes. The
Redhawks hung around, eventually slicing Tech’s lead down to
two points, 21-19, with 7:49 to go in the period.
Tech’s lead was just four at halftime, 35-31, but the Golden
Eagles regained a double-digit edge quickly in the second half,
running off a 10-4 stretch to make it a 45-35 lead.
Following a basket by Moore, Northern sparked a 13-0 Golden Eagle
run to make it a 21-point lead at 58-37, and Tech never looked
back. SEMO cut it to 13, Tech built it back to 21; SEMO cut it to
14, and Tech rebuilt it to 19.
After shooting 37 percent in the first half, the Golden Eagles
connected on 72.4 percent (21-for-29) in the second half. Tech had
a 41-35 lead in rebounds.
Tickets are on sale at the Athletics Ticket Office in Eblen Center
for the coming homestand, or by calling (931) 372-3940 during
regular business hours.
